The musical instrument we chose for this digital display is a mysterious “violin without sides”. The front piece, or soundboard, and its back piece, are in fact attached to each other rather than to any sides, or ribs. There are only three known violins “without sides” in the world, and all are in Scotland: two are conserved here in St Cecilia’s Hall, and a third one is located in Dean Castle, Kilmarnock.

What’s so mysterious about them, you might ask?

Currently, their makers are a mystery, along with when they were fabricated and how they were used. Unlike the actual mute practice violin stored elsewhere in the gallery - one without a front or back but bearing sides - this violin is neither easy to use nor quiet. Some think that they might be “dance master fiddles" like the pochettes down the hall - small instruments designed to be mobile for dance masters' use 'on the go'. Another suggestion was that the inside of this violin might have been used as a secret compartment, since the evidence shows it has been opened and repaired before!

St. Cecilia’s Conservator Dr Jonathan Santa Maria Bouquet has been trying to uncover more. With the help of other experts, he used medical-grade CT scanning technology on the two violins to understand their construction and the materials and techniques used.

These same CT scans were used to produce our life-size copy of the most mysterious of the three violins without sides: MIMeD 5851. It was acquired by the University of Edinburgh in 2008, but its previous history remains unknown. What the CT scans revealed is that this violin was built using two different types of wood for the front and back piece. Sycamore, ebony, ivory, and rosewood were expensive materials used to make it, but the final work is not perfectly refined compared to other violins of the same age. There is no maker’s signature nor decorations, as can be seen on the other violin, to provide hints about its history. A scientific analysis of the tree rings found on the wood used to make the violin did not provide much use either, as there is no temporal match between the two sides! Moreover, at some point in time, this violin broke and was then repaired. Its silhouette is different from the other two violins without sides, which could lead us to think that it does not belong to the same maker as the others.

Why building an instrument like this?

Was it an inventive musical instruments maker’s experiment?

Was it an apprentice’s job, made from scratch?

Who would use it? A dance master, an itinerant musician, a music student?

Where and when would it be played?  Its dimensions might suggest it was a portable instrument: was it played in pubs, in the streets? Its sound is not loud enough though.

Could something have been hidden in it?

Have a look at the 3D model we created out of the CT scans and analyse the violin yourself! Do you notice something we missed? Do you have any theories?

Let us know in the feedback section, and help us figuring out this musical mystery!